You, Carrot Top
by Iluvenis Telperien
Summary: //Completed// Will it be Sakuragi's 52nd rejection?
1. Chapt 1 Weird

You, Carrot top

Author: Silhouette

Websites: (homepage) http://www.eddiec.cjb.net

                  (Rukawa) http://www.silhouette.cjb.net

                   (SenRu) http://www.thunderstormsenru.cjb.net

Ratings: G (Do not fear! Kids! The Queen of Censor is here to save you from all hentai-ness…)

-_____-;;

Disclaimer: Oh god if you give me a million dollars I will use it to buy the copyright of Slam Dunk from Inoue-sensei.

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She stepped into school, a million thoughts racing through her mind.

/Goodness me, I think I'm going to die. In a foreign country, with no friends, and mom and dad are at home…Onii-san, for the first time in my miserable 15 years of life I wish you were here to safeguard me from all harm…/

She saw a dark blue bike roll into the school grounds, and the biker seemed to be drooping over the bike in a strange pose…asleep.

She sweat dropped. _/This person is weird. /_

She saw the person knock someone down, and he walked away without even apologizing.

She sweat dropped again. _/This person is definitely weird. /_

A team of girls appeared from nowhere and started screaming stuff at the person who was knocked down, and they were cooing over the strange biker. Funny thing was, they carried a flag that said…what? Rukawa Brigade?

She sweat dropped once more. _/These girls are so weird./_

The person who was knocked over jumped up and started yelling about some fox knocking over some genius.

_/Weird. This school is…Just. So. Weird. /_

Sighing, she decided to find her way into the school and start looking for the administration office instead of looking at the various weird people in the weird school. She now noticed that the 'genius' person had red hair, flaming red hair.

_/How cool. But he looked like a carrot-top. /_

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"Konnichiwa, sensei, my name is Cindy Kwek and I'm the transfer student from Singapore."

"Konnichiwa, Cin-dy…did I get your name right?" The friendly dean smiled at the petite, shy girl who was trying to look cheerful. 

/Poor girl, she must be real scared since she was so unfamiliar with the surroundings and all. /

"Hai, Sensei," Cindy smoothed her new uniform over tentatively, "May I know where I should go?"

"Oh, of course, you are assigned to Class 1-07, please follow me."

As they walked down the long, long corridor that never seemed to end, Cindy felt her heart thumping out of place. She pulled at her hair, hoping to get the fuzzy strands straight.

_/For once I wish my hair would stay in place. /_

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"Sa…Sakuragi Hanamichi, I've Had ENOUGH!" Roared the sensei, flinging a piece of chalk at the offending red-head, "WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

That was what greeted Cindy when the classroom door was slide open, and she actually screamed.

* * *

_/Oh god, what did I do. Calm down Cindy, it's not much big business, you just screamed for the whole school to hear on your very first day. Argh. Argh. Argh./_

* * *

The class burst out into laughter, everyone was falling off their seats trying to keep the torrents of tears that flowed from their eyes, in control, laughing their heads off.

Nobody had screamed when the sensei roared before.

…

MWAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA….

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Sakuragi POV

_Wha…what? The class is roaring with laughter, piercing my ears. This is just so…irritating._

I sat up and stared at the sensei, he looked terrible. Like he was trapped between embarrassment, anger, and laughter. Terrible, ne? Oh, there's a new girl, I see. Small-sized, cute, but not as cute as my Haruko. Maybe I should go back to sleep again, there's practice this afternoon, and I can't afford to let Gori scream my ear-drums off.

"Ko…Konnichi..wa, my…my name…is…eh…Cin…Cindy…Kwek." She stammered.

Huh? Her name is Sinsindee…Quack? Strange name, never heard that before. Humph, interesting.

"I'm from Sing…Singapore and I hope you…will help me as I get used to the environment in Japan." That shy smile, showing her braces, and she pushed her glasses up. Heheh, Megane-chan. Cute.

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Author's note: Bwahahahha…hey Razzberrie! Are you reading this? Mwahhahahahaha…..


	2. Chapt 2 So weird

You, Carrot top

Author: Silhouette

Websites: (homepage) http://www.eddiec.cjb.net

                  (Rukawa) http://www.silhouette.cjb.net

                   (SenRu) http://www.thunderstormsenru.cjb.net

Ratings: G (Do not fear! Kids! The Queen of Censor is here to save you from all hentai-ness…)

-_____-;;

Disclaimer: Oh god if you give me a million dollars I will use it to buy the copyright of Slam Dunk from Inoue-sensei.

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Cindy POV

I sat through the lessons with almost no problems at all. /Almost. / Sometimes I think it's so tiring to be…petite, since I have to sit right in front of the class under the teacher's nose and tilting my head up to admire their not-so-attractive nose-hair. 

Ew.

But I don't mind the person sitting beside me, though, his name is Shinji Hiiraki and he's only a little taller than me, so I didn't feel so inferior. There was some constant maniacal laughing behind the class by various boys, but I didn't dare to look. I was supposed to pay attention to class. 

Upon inspection I realized that the floor is littered with broken bits of chalk. They looked like they've been manually crushed. Fingers, perhaps. I better be careful with what I do, the teachers here must be really, really violent. Just two minutes ago I vaguely heard something like "WAKE UP RUKAWA!!!!!" down the corridor. Shinji said the guy's from 1-11, which is quite a corridor away. 

"Ding-ling-ling-ling-ling…" went the school bell…

[A/N: We went through composition today, and the teacher told us to refrain from using onomatopoeias like "Rrrrrring!" or "Bbbbrrrrrrrrrring!" so here's "Ding-ling-ling-ling" for you, a little slow, but there's the effect. -___-;;]

It's break, I think. Shinji put his stuff away and ran out of the class. A few girls came over to chat.

"Hi! My name is Miki, you are from Singapore?"

Suddenly I didn't feel so scared anymore, maybe school isn't that bad. These girls are rather pretty and very friendly; I smiled back at them, "Yes! My name is Cindy, and I am very pleased to meet you." I looked at Miki, and then at another girl, with brownish-colored hair, "May I know your name please?"

"I'm Shizuko, we hope you like our class?" The girl was cute, and her lovely beam reminded me of my old friend Fen back in Singapore. 

"I think this class is lovely!" My spirits rose by every second, they are so nice! "I would like to join the school band, where do I sign up?"

"Oh, yes, you just go over to the staff room, and get a form from the teacher-in-charge and sign up! Just this easy! Which instrument do you play?"

"I play the flute," I grinned proudly, "And the piano in my spare time as well."

As they lead me out of the class, I was happily talking to them and didn't really look out for anything.

So, as the cliché goes:

**WHAM**

I banged into someone. I looked…no, I looked up, and realized, to my absolute horror, that it was the carrot-top. Without even thinking, I blurted out, "Carrot top!"

Miki and Shizuko stared at me, then at him, and they started screaming with laughter, slapping their thighs and covering their mouths and shaking like a leaf…in mirth. 

_/Whoops, Cindy, wrong line, wrong person. This person must be at least five-fourth of your height. He could easily turn you into carrot soup. /_

Maybe I should consider running.

In the end I didn't, and decided to look at him stupidly. He glared at me, then at the laughing girls, his face turned so red, I thought he was going to fry up in a burnt pack of carrots.

"You! You dare call the Tensai carrot-top?" He growled, "The name is Sakuragi Hanamichi! Remember that! If not for the fact that you are a girl I would…"

_/Shi…no vulgar…Shucks, Cindy, you are D.E.A.D. /_

Someone pushed him out of the way, and stood in front of me. I felt less intimidated now, since this person is considerably close to my height, "Gomen, ne, I'm Youhei, that's my egocentric friend Hanamichi, just ignore him, he's constantly like _that_." He smiled. I felt so much assured at his friendly smile, and smiled back at him, "Arigatou, it's alright, eh, I need to go." 

As I ran out of the class, with Miki and Shizuko still laughing pretty hard, I thought:

_/Weird. /_

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Sakuragi POV

What the hell?! That new girl just called me carrot-top? That's certainly interesting, huh? Nobody dared to call me that before, not even that baka kitsune. I felt so amused, I decided to play around with her a little by growling, "You! You dare call the Tensai carrot-top? The name is Sakuragi Hanamichi! Remember that! If not for the fact that you are a girl I would…" She looked so white, as if she's going to dissolve in a puddle of gooey and seep into the grounds. Come to think of it, it's pretty gross. Youhei came to her rescue and started introducing himself. Come on, guy, I know you are interested in this Kawaii new girl, why don't you just admit it?

I don't know why, but I like the way she blushes and smile shyly, she's not as pretty as Haruko-chan, but she's charming in her own way, the way she speaks very softly, but with a certain underlying strength in it. Maybe she's not as scared as she looked…very interesting. Just like I always make everyone think I'm a clown or even stupid, I am actually pretty intellectual you know. Okay, stop talking about my bloated ego, which is always true both in and out. Ah, I'm supposed to talk about the new girl ain't I? Maybe we could make friends.

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	3. Chapt 3 Definitely weird

You, Carrot top

Author: Silhouette

Websites: (homepage) http://www.eddiec.cjb.net

                  (Rukawa) http://www.silhouette.cjb.net

                   (SenRu) http://www.thunderstormsenru.cjb.net

Ratings: G (Do not fear! Kids! The Queen of Censor is here to save you from all hentai-ness…)

-_____-;;

Disclaimer: Oh god if you give me a million dollars I will use it to buy the copyright of Slam Dunk from Inoue-sensei.

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Cindy strolled into the cafeteria, with Miki and Shizuko with her. They chirped on and on about their favorite stuff, music, people, whatever and whatever. Of course, they spoke of this person without fail. Rukawa.

Of course.

"Know what? Have you seen Rukawa Kaede?" Miki squealed happily. Cindy stared at her (¬___¬) and asked, "Who?"

"Rukawa! He's the super rookie of the Basketball team and he's really cool and really, really handsome!" shrieked Shizuko. 

Cindy covered her ears in shock, "Ok, ok," She sighed, "No, I haven't seen him."

"Then come with us! Let's go to the gym." Miki stood, trying to drag Cindy off.

"Eh…" She stood very still and refused to budge.

"Maybe you will be able to catch him doing his famous dunk!" Shizuko grinned, dragging Cindy along as well.

"NO!" Cindy grabbed the pillar closest to her and yelped, "I need to eat and…stop dragging!"

"Ah, sorry, sorry," Miki released her and patted Cindy's hair, "You need to eat more!"

"Or the wind will blow you away!" Laughed Shizuko, "Let's get something to eat."

The three girls went off chatting happily, not realizing that everyone in the cafeteria was staring at them.

"I say, did you see?"

"Yes."

"That girl, she's the new girl in 1-7 right?"

"She…"

"She just…"

"She just hugged a pillar."

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[Ed: Okay, I know this is lame.]

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Cindy POV

Rukawa? Who? Never mind, food is of utmost importance to me. Ah, food, food, food, and here I come! 

These food definitely looked more interesting than the food we have in the school canteen back in Singapore, I said they looked interesting, but whether the food is nice…[flashes knives and forks mentally] Let Mdm Kwek try~

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Sakuragi POV

There goes my stomach, rumbling like the ground works. The 10sai is in need of food. FOOD.

Haven't been to this stall yet, maybe I should try it out. I stepped into the queue and whistled while waiting. Someone tapped me on the shoulder, and I turned. No one.

A girlish voice demanded, "You jumped queue."

I looked _down_. Hey, isn't it the girl who called me carrot-top? I grinned, "Sorry," and went behind her.

She looked just the bit appeased before I added, "I didn't see you." It was pretty amazing, how her complexion turned from a pretty shade of ivory-white to pink, then to the color of my hair. Red.

"I…I'm not that short!" She squeaked, her face flushing crimson.

"I already apologized! Hey!" I glared back at her as hard as possible, trying to stifle my laughter, "You should be honored, you know, the Tensai never apologizes. But I am a good guy and have a soft spot for little girls."

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Cindy POV

_Little._

He just called me _little girl_. He is tired of living.

"You…" I searched for some really great expletives, "…You stupid big fat…uh…carrot top!" I screamed without thinking. The moment the word 'carrot' got out of my mouth I already regretted it, but the 'top' just came out on its own.

He stared at me, his mahogany eyes flashing, "You called me fat?" He pointed at himself incredulously, "Do you realize what you just said? You said that the well-built Tensai is _fat_. For goodness' sake, fat."

_For the first time in my 15 years of miserable living I felt like digging a tunnel right through the canteen floor and escape like a mole. But. The school might charge me for damage to the tiles._

I stammered, "Ah…who cares." And turned back into the queue and realized it was my turn. I shrugged and bought myself a bowl of steaming noodles. Hey, that looked quite a lot, I don't think I would be able to finish even a half of that.

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Sakuragi POV

Hehe, just cute. Just so cute. This girl is really interesting, but the Tensai have better things to do than stay here to banter with this new girl. Haruko-chan is probably at the gym already. So…four bowls of noodles for me and off I go. Actually I was thinking of having another bowl, but alas, I don't have the time to finish them.

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Cindy POV

To my terror, okay, maybe not terror, the word is…dismay. To my dismay, I realize I really could not finish the noodles. What possessed me to buy the noodles anyway? I don't eat anything during break even back in Singapore. I stared at the bowl of dough…eh…noodles and wondered what alternatives are there to dumping the noodles and wasting all of that. Maybe I can try stuffing the noodles down my stomach, but I'll probably choke and throw everything out. Besides, only my friend Fang can manage the feat of 'stuffing' and 'force-feeding' herself. I can't.

Help.

Think, Cindy, think of all the poor children starving in the famines in Africa. They are famine victims, and you are not going to waste this bowl of noodles.

I looked up.

Carrot top was sitting two tables away and he was talking very loudly to his friends while gobbling the noodles down like…like…a hog. I screwed up my nose in revulsion. Ugh, this is so disgusting, the way he was practically slobbering over the poor bowls of noodles. With a loud wham, he placed the bowl down and announced that he was done, and he looked /very/ proud of himself. 

What was the big deal about finishing four bowls of noodles in a row? I can do that too, but I'm not a hog.

With refreshed determination I went back to working on the noodles.

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	4. Chapt 4 Just too weird

You, Carrot top 

Author: Silhouette

Websites: (homepage) http://www.eddiec.cjb.net

(Rukawa) http://www.silhouette.cjb.net

(SenRu) http://www.thunderstormsenru.cjb.net

Ratings: G (Do not fear! Kids! The Queen of Censor is here to save you from all hentai-ness…)

-_____-;;

Disclaimer: Oh god if you give me a million dollars I will use it to buy the copyright of Slam Dunk from Inoue-sensei.

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Cindy POV

I looked out of the window, and sighed for the xth time in the day. What possessed me to be so rude to Sakuragi anyway? He is just Sakuragi, an egotistic male who considered himself genius, when he was not, so why was I so …impolite? It must be the first time in my timid mousey life that I dared to speak up to someone like I did to Sakuragi.

"Ah Cindy, here you are." Shizuko's voice came over to me. I turned and smiled. She was carrying a shopping bag and I asked her what that was. She beamed cheerfully and opened the bag.

To my revulsion, it was a set of pink clothes. _PINK_. For goodness' sake, a shocking, bright pink that screamed, "ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING". Trying not to screw up my face I took the clothes out and stared at it.

"Shizuko, this…this is so… _skimpy_." I emphasized the last word. "Is this a swimming costume? How come I never saw something like that before? And what does the 'R' on the thing mean?"

She turned pink, yeah, as pink as the costume, and whispered happily, "This is the uniform of the Rukawa Brigade! Speaking of which, you haven't seen Rukawa yet, have you?"

_Uniform?_

The crazy mental questioning that went on in my head was utterly insane as I tried to picture the girls wearing some swimming costume thing and running around carrying stretchers, some carrying first-aid boxes and bandaging up someone.

Ugh.

Ugh.

Ugh.

What kind of 'brigade' is that? The St. John's Brigade back in Singapore had perfectly starch-white stiff uniforms, and none of the various funny brigades you find around Singapore had costumes that are pink, skimpy, and eh, repulsive. 

I guessed I must have looked real stupid then, because Shizuko started laughing very hard at my perplexed expression, "You mean, you don't know how we function?"

I mutely shook my head.

And she went on to explain that the Rukawa Brigade is actually a fan club for this reeeally cool basketball player called Rukawa, and yada, yada. You readers probably know the details better than I do, anyway.

I think I still looked absolutely baffled, because Shizuko sighed and threw up her arms in defeat.

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Sakuragi POV

_Ore Wa Tensai…I am a genius, lah lah lah lah lah…_

Here I am, the Genius Basketman, arriving in class, to see Cindy and Shizuko chatting happily about something. She had this bewildered expression on her face and I wondered what they could possibly be talking about. It is probably not my business anyway, but I caught this word. "…yada yada….Rukawa."

_Rukawa?_

Why the hell are they talking about Rukawa? 

That emotionless, walking, talking (maybe not) iceberg of a guy. 

A stationary basketball would be more interesting than _him_. I know Shizuko was a brigade member, though she was not as bitchy as the others members, but I just cannot stand the idea of her converting Cindy into a Brigade girl. Ugh. Dear sweet ole Cindy wouldn't be cute if she gets dressed up in those _things_ and scream in her tiny voice "LOVE LOVE RUKAWA!!!" or stupid things like that.

Hm, what am I thinking of? Did I actually call her 'sweet ole Cindy'? Oh well, what a terrible thought, I'm supposed to like no one else but Haruko-chan. Speaking of whom, I shall proceed to see if she's in her class now, maybe I could ask her out for some ice cream.

_/Walalalalalah….Ore wa Tensai…/_

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Cindy POV

Okay, school's over, and I shall return home. This is the fifth day I'm at Shohoku high, and basically things went on quite smoothly and I found myself handling schoolwork quite well. I got praises from the sensei today for doing very well in Chemistry. 

Ma came over yesterday, and she was totally horrified that I actually had to walk to school. She couldn't imagine petite me walking across the streets and insisted I get a bike like I did, back in Singapore. Okay, a bike, no problem with me, I do that all the time.

So now, I am proceeding to the bike stands to get my bike. I liked it a lot, it was silver and had a really smart look about it, no, I'm not talking about the IQ of the bike (if it had any), I was saying that the bike was very stylish and chic. 

I unlocked the chain and pulled the bike out, only then I realized that there was another person in the place, also retrieving his bike. Hey, isn't he the sleeping guy I saw that day? I recognized him for the second time, after Shizuko and Miki made me see the guy call Rukawa when he was practicing in the gym two days before. He and the sleeping biker was one and the same. Weird person. 

Pretty good looking, but very, very, boring person. He doesn't talk at all!

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Rukawa POV

First time I saw a girl who /really/ cycles to school. Really. Okay, maybe I was just eh, not paying attention, but I never saw any girl who comes into this shed and take the bike out without even trying to wink and bat her eyelashes at me. Usually I never saw any girl who tried that stunt, twice. Me, Rukawa, I can freeze any person, any time, anywhere.

[Commercial: Use visa card any time, any where…^^;;]

But apparently this girl really cycled to school and she didn't put the bike in here only because she wanted to eh, bat her eyelashes at bikers. You know why? She was very experienced in unlocking the padlock on the chain.

Wait, Rukawa, why are you noticing so much about her? Let's get this bike out of this place first, Sendoh's also coming by, we are supposed to go for a one-on-one. 

Speaking of which, he is here.

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Cindy POV

Huh? There's another guy wearing the school uniform from another school, and he was smiling and waving at Rukawa. Goodness me, he is so…tall…he was even taller than Carrot top. I shrugged nonchalantly and got on the bike. 

As I near the guy at the gate, he smiled at me.

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Sendoh found great interest in the girl coming out on the silver bike. She had this unique feel about her even though she didn't talk and he was just looking.

[A/N: Admit it, Sendoh, you like every girl you meet.]

Sendoh gave her his super-famous ten thousand volt smile.

[A/N: That was approximately about the voltage of the electric wire fences around the dinosaur enclosures in 'Jurassic Park', really.]

Cindy saw him smile and plainly ignored it.

_/He's probably just another handsome school hunk who thinks that he could attract every living and walking being in skirts. /_

Suddenly her pedaling got hindered, and she shrieked a little before the bike fell over, Cindy included.

"Ouch…" She crawled up, and raised her eyebrow a little when the strange spiky haired hunk came over to help her up. 

"Are you okay?" He smiled. Again.

Cindy stared at him.

He smiled.

She stared.

He was still smiling.

She was still staring.

He continued smiling.

She continued staring.

Smile.

Stare.

Smile.

Stare.

"Ugh." 

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Sendoh POV

Am I seeing and hearing things wrong? This must definitely be the first time a girl screwed up her face and said "Ugh" at my blatantly smiling face. 

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Cindy POV

Ugh. My knee hurts.

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[Author's note: Oh, you know, not everything's going to end up in romance, though. I'm not planning a quadrangle (relationship), seriously, neither Sendoh nor Rukawa will fall for her, just putting their POVs here and well, this is NOT SenRu.

I know I'll get swatted by my fellow AK ML people and other SenRu fans out there…okay, I was supposed to be a SenRu fan. But this fic is dedicated to my friend, so…I think she'll like it better if I keep it to non-yaoi. ^____^]


	5. Chapt 5 I wanna say its weird

You, Carrot top 

Author: Silhouette

Websites: (homepage) http://www.eddiec.cjb.net

(Rukawa) http://www.silhouette.cjb.net

(SenRu) http://www.thunderstormsenru.cjb.net

Ratings: G (Do not fear! Kids! The Queen of Censor is here to save you from all hentai-ness…)

-_____-;;

Disclaimer: Oh god if you give me a million dollars I will use it to buy the copyright of Slam Dunk from Inoue-sensei.

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[Note for this chapter: There maybe some Singaporean expressions here so please bear with me.]

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"Hello?"

"Hey, Cindy? It's Fen here!" An excited, chirpy voice floated through the line. Cindy beamed instantly, jumping on the sofa, squealing animatedly.

"Yes!!! Fen!!! You finally called liao!" 

"So, how are you over there?"

"Quite fine, I got many new friends now!" 

"Good to hear that, but don't forget us okay? Hannah, Satan, and I!"

"Of course I wouldn't! I miss all of you…"

"But make sure you enjoy yourself there."

"I am, oh, listen up, this school is reeeeally weird."

Cindy proceeded to talk about the /weird/ people she met in school, like the Carrot top, eh, Sakuragi, the sleeper, well, Rukawa, and the Electric porcupine…okay, Sendoh. 

"Hahaha…this is just so cute," Fen laughed, "I can't believe you actually said all that about people! Looks like life is really different there, even you are different!"

"Really aah? Oh no…I hope I'm not," Cindy hugged a cushion, "So…is Satan girl still going round with those 'Golden fingers' of hers?"

"Oh, yes, you bet, she just tickled me today during recess and made sure I screamed for the whole canteen to hear. Blast her." Fen grunted.

"Ah, you just reminded me, leh, you know right, on the first day of school, I was so scared because the teacher was yelling at Carrot top, I screamed. Really leh, I screamed for the whole corridor and maybe the whole school…bleah," She stuck her tongue out, embarrassed, "Then everyone was laughing at me. Grrr… maybe you should send a shovel over so that I can dig a hole into the ground when required. I think I need that a lot nowadays. So jealous of Carrot top you know, he seem to make a fool out of himself all the time, and everyone laughs at him, but he never seemed to really mind, unless you count those funny 'TEME!!! How dare you call the Tensai blah, blah, blah...' …"

"He sounded interesting!"

"He is, anyway, but I think he's not really that weird as he appeared to be, lor. I saw him during the basketball practices and the way he play was like, very heated and very passionate," Cindy's eyes glossed over,

"It was only when he stopped then he like suddenly remembered that he was supposed to be 'siao' (crazy) and started guffawing about stuff again. Oh, and he calls Sleeper, "Kitsune", cute right? Sleeping Fox."

"Aah…the Sleeper guy sounds interesting…like…like Xin in our class! He sleeps openly and blatantly before the teacher, you said?"

"Yah lor (Oh yes)! And…"

The long night was spent on the phone…

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Sakuragi POV

I've made up my mind, I shall tell Haruko about my feelings tomorrow. I started imagining how she would react…

{Reaction 1}

-Replays Yohko scene-

Haruko: I'm sorry; Sakuragi, but I like Rukawa.

_/Argh, what thought. Terrible. Skip. Next scene. /_

{Reaction 2}

Haruko: *Starry eyes* Really? Hana-kun, do you really like me? I like you too!

_/Ah, this is better. /_

How should I go about telling her? Hm…maybe I should ask a girl for help, maybe she'd provide pointers, like what flowers, yada…

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Sakuragi POV

I peeked round the door, and saw Cindy sitting there alone in the class. Okay, so is this good or bad? The good thing is, she is the only girl who wouldn't blast her head off laughing at my request, I think she wouldn't, anyway, and the bad thing is…I don't know how to put it across to her. Somehow, the idea of asking Cindy for dating tips didn't seem too logical…

Okay, Hanamichi, let's go for it.

"Eh, Cindy…"

She turned round and stared at me with those big dark eyes of hers, "Yes?"

"Eh…"

"What?"

"Erm, you see, I like this girl call Haruko…"

"…And then?"

"So I want to tell her about my feelings."

"Uh-huh."

"How do you think I should tell her?"

"Just tell her lah."

"Huh?"

"Actually I don't know."

"What? But you are a girl…surely you will know…"

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Cindy POV

All right, people, Carrot Top just asked me how to 'fess up to a girl. What the hell would you think I'd know? Nothing.

I told him that. He paused and stared at me.

This is priceless; he actually went flabbergasted for a while and just stared at me like that. What does this mean? It meant that he is a big Moron who actually thought that all girls are experts on dating and courtship.

Suddenly this person's face flashed by my mind: Spikes for a lame excuse as hair, gorgeous smile who knocked out every single female on spot except me, and eh…his name is…what's his name?

"You know, I know this person who can help you."

"Really!" Sakuragi's face brightened up in a big smile.

"Okay, listen up, he's got spiky hair, he is very tall…"

Sakuragi scratched his chin, "Who? Mitsui?"

"No, he's taller than you are, and he's not from our school."

"What school?"

"Something 'nan' " I pondered, trying to recall the other word I saw on the guy's uniform.

"Kainan? Ryonan?"

"I think it's Ryonan."

"Oh darn, that Ryonan baka smiley," His cheerful face sank.

I looked at his retreating figure in surprise, why…what's wrong with asking the 'Ryonan baka smiley'? I mean, he is obviously skilled at getting girls out on dates and etc… isn't it good that I recommended a specialist to him?

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Sakuragi glared at the tall smiling male before him and tried to resist the urge to knock that smile out of his face.

"Smiley, you've got to help me." He finally made up his mind and spoke.

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	6. Chapt 6 Totally Weird

You, Carrot top 

Author: Silhouette

Websites: (homepage) http://www.eddiec.cjb.net

(Rukawa) http://www.silhouette.cjb.net

(SenRu) http://www.thunderstormsenru.cjb.net

Ratings: G (Do not fear! Kids! The Queen of Censor is here to save you from all hentai-ness…)

-_____-;;

Disclaimer: Oh god if you give me a million dollars I will use it to buy the copyright of Slam Dunk from Inoue-sensei.

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[Note for this chapter: There maybe some Singaporean expressions here so please bear with me.]

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"Ha..Ha..." Sakuragi opened his mouth and tried to said something to his dream girl, who was now standing right before him, staring at him with her wide big puppy-brown eyes.

"Yes?"

"Ha…Ha…"

"What's so funny?"

"Haruko, I eh…"

"Yes?" She was now looking slightly impatient but was still the nice girl she was.

"I was wondering, if you are free enough to go out with me tonight."

_/That was the first step, Smiley said that. /_

"I…well…Sakuragi-kun, I can't go. I'm on a date."

* Sad angsty music play in the background as Sakuragi's heart break into bits and pieces. *

(The breaking of glass could be heard)

"Oh…so…you've got a boyfriend now?" He tried to look happy for her.

"Yes." She lowered her head, "Gomen ne, Sakuragi-kun, I know you like me…but…gomen!" 

"It's okay…who is that lucky guy?" He looked at her forlornly. 

"He's…he's Yasuda-kun."

Sakuragi paused, thinking of the year two student who was not exactly striking in appearance, but has a good heart and courageous. "He's a good guy, congratulations." He lowered his head and walked away.

"Sa…Sakuragi-kun! Gomen ne…" Haruko looked at his dejected back sorrowfully.

Yasuda came running up to her, "Haru-chan, let's go…" He broke off lightly, vision following Haruko's. He understood everything, "So…you told him?" She nodded silently. 

"Sakuragi-kun was very nice about it…actually I didn't expect that." Haruko muttered, "He is not as loud or silly as everyone imagined him to be, he is not." He put an arm around her shoulder comfortingly, "It's not your fault, Haru-chan, and I hope Sakuragi will get over it soon…come on, let's go for dinner."

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"Hoy, Sakuragi! So how did it go?" Sendoh came running up to the red head, smiling widely as usual.

"She's dated Yasuda." Sakuragi replied softly. 

"Oh…actually, she's not the only girl in the world…" Sendoh tried to comfort the upset junior, "You know, there are also other girls, who are very nice, and you can always find another one."

"But she's not Haruko." He threaded his fingers through his hair, sitting down on a bench in the park.

Sendoh sat down beside him, not knowing what to say.

A pair of sparrows flew by.

"Look at those little brown birds, they can go around in pairs…" Sakuragi sighed. "I don't think I want to mope around on this any more, let's talk about you. What's new in your history of romance?"

"Not a lot…oh, there was this girl I saw that day when I went to your school to meet Rukawa-kun, she's really cute and all…" Sendoh looked thoughtful.

"Cute? That's all you can say about a girl?"

"Alright, she's petite, and had this really…" Sendoh gestured frantically, looking for some word to describe the girl he met, "She rides this silver bike."

"Silver bike…don't tell me…Cindy?" Sakuragi's eyes brightened, "So you are telling me, she has slightly puffy hair pinned back quite neatly, wears braces and spectacles…"

"Yes, yes!" Sendoh beamed, "You know her?"

"…She is pretty unresponsive to Rukawa and your looks, right?" Sakuragi snorted, "I bet that was why you are attracted to her, she is different."

"Oh well, maybe," Sendoh shrugged, leaning back on the bench. "You know her?" He repeated.

"She's my classmate, a transfer from Singapore."

"Cool! Do you have her contact number? I want to know her better…" The spiky haired boy had a faraway look on his face.

"Darn you Smiley, you really go after everything in skirts don't you?" Sakuragi rolled his eyes, "Frankly, let me tell you, it was Cindy who advised me to look for you." 

"Really!" Sendoh grinned, "It means she has a deep impression on me…"

"Wishful thinking," Sakuragi snorted again, "You know, she said something like…'Casanova', 'lame spikes'…" He smirked, looking at Sendoh's gradually falling smile. Actually Cindy didn't say that, but she was close enough.

T_____T

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Cindy POV

I stared at the stack of work before me, sighing resignedly. We poor students are fated to be enslaved by mountains of schoolwork for eternity. I lowered my head, continuing to work endlessly.

"Cindy."

I jumped and screamed in shock. Who…. who was that? It was so creepy, you know, you are working on your work intensely and suddenly someone tap you on the shoulders and say "Cindy"…Ugh.

I lifted my head from work and turned, my eyes widened when I saw who that was.

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	7. Chapt 6 Part two Still weird

You, Carrot top 

Author: Silhouette

Websites: (homepage) http://www.eddiec.cjb.net

(Rukawa) http://www.silhouette.cjb.net

(SenRu) http://www.thunderstormsenru.cjb.net

Ratings: G (Do not fear! Kids! The Queen of Censor is here to save you from all hentai-ness…)

-_____-;;

Disclaimer: Oh god if you give me a million dollars I will use it to buy the copyright of Slam Dunk from Inoue-sensei.

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(Continued from previous chapter)

Part two

Cindy POV

I felt my eyes grow wider and wider, and if I'm not careful they are going to fall out of their sockets, not that I would let them do so anyway. I heard myself gasp, "Ren, what are you doing here?" I rubbed my eyes, trying to figure out whether he's real or only a figment of my imagination.

Ren smiled cheerfully, "I came to visit you and see how you are doing."

"No, wait, how did you get in here?" I stared at him. 

_Maybe I'll consider complaining against the security system._

He seemed to flinch, "You…you gave permission for me to come up, and so the security guard gave me the keys to your hostel room, Cindy dear."

I flinched too, and a voice at the back of my voice said:

Cindy: Hello? _[This math problem is so hard.]_

Someone: Hello? Cindy? This is Ren here, can I come up?

Cindy: Ren? Okay. _[How do I solve this?]_

I think I forgot about that.

"Cindy…I think your memory's getting from bad to worse." He smiled at me, patting my head.

Ren was my boyfriend in Singapore. Yes, but how did he get here? By airplane, of course, you blur-block. I scolded myself for my absent-mindedness. "So, how have you been?" He looked around, "Hm, your room is still so scrupulously clean, can't stand that…"

Aw, okay, so he said I'm a cleanliness-freak. 

"Where are you staying?" I asked.

"Hotel, we came over for vacations, actually, so I thought I'd drop by."

"We? Who are _we_?"

"My parents, and I," He looked confused, "Duh?"

"Oh…okay."

A call came in, and I picked the receiver up, making sure that I really pay attention to what the other person was saying. 

"Hello?"

"Eh, hi Cindy, this is Sakuragi here. I need to ask you about some homework."

"Oh, okay…shoot."

And the conversation went on.

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Well, so Cindy was talking to Sakuragi over the phone, but there's just one problem, she forgot about Ren. 

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Chapter to be continued


	8. Chapt 6 Part three Ahduh Weird

Author: Silhouette

Websites: (homepage) http://www.eddiec.cjb.net

(Rukawa) http://www.silhouette.cjb.net

(SenRu) http://www.thunderstormsenru.cjb.net

Ratings: G (Do not fear! Kids! The Queen of Censor is here to save you from all hentai-ness…)

-_____-;;

Disclaimer: Oh god if you give me a million dollars I will use it to buy the copyright of Slam Dunk from Inoue-sensei.

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(Continued from previous chapter)

Part three

"Hm, yah, of course, yes…" Cindy laughed at Sakuragi's lame jokes, looking up at the clock, "Oh my, it's 10 pm already! I guess I better go, ne, I haven't finished my work!"

"Oh, okay, gomen ne, for disturbing you, see you tomorrow!"

"Nah, it's okay, see you!"

She put down the receiver, a small smile on her face. Sakuragi could be so amusing to talk to.

"So, you are done talking?" A voice behind her made her jump.

"H..huh?" She choked, "Gomen ne Ren!!" She looked pathetically apologetic.

"Eh…I don't know Japanese, so…" Ren looked as though he was going to freak. Cindy looked as though she had forgotten all about him, including his nationality. 

"Gom…sorry! Sorry! I was too caught up in the conversation, eh, why don't you take a seat and I'll get you supper…" Cindy fumbled for words.

"I'm already sitting," Ren sighed, "I think I'll go back to the hotel, my parents are probably anxious. I'll call you some other day?"

"Okay, see you!" She tried to smile. 

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Cindy POV

Ren came all the way and I forgot about him? Oh no…I sinned. I'll feel guilty for life.

T___T

I looked at the work still stacked on the table. Looks like it's going to be a long night…

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Sakuragi spotted the petite figure ahead, and he followed up to her quickly, "Hoy, Cindy," He tapped her shoulder.

She screamed.

"Wha…what the?" Sakuragi spluttered, staring at the girl.

She turned around, noticed the weird looks thrown in by various schoolmates and flushed.

Both of them just stood there and stared at each other with red faces, Sakuragi's face was red because he laughed too hard. Cindy pouted a little and swung around, "You are laughing at me." She walked off, leaving Sakuragi standing in the middle of the road laughing his head off.

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Sakuragi POV

There she is, twiddling that pen in her hand…

Funny, I seemed to be staring at her (okay, her back) quite a lot, and that's a miracle since I always sleep in class. Sensei's unusually cheerful today, I wonder why.

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Sensei POV

Sakuragi's finally awake in class…I must be getting the model teacher award soon.

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Cindy POV

I yawned mentally, still staring at the teacher out of bleary, sleepy eyes. Working on five assignments until 3 am isn't an easy task… His lessons are so…boring…

I felt someone tap my shoulder.

I screamed.

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Girl-behind-Cindy POV

Oh shi…no vulgar…Oh shucks… she actually scream at a tap on the shoulder? The sensei hovered over her, his face rapidly darkening, "What is it, Kwek-san."

"Kwek-san" still sound weird to me, it sounds like a duck trying to pronounce his own name.

"Eh…nothing, **Unagi**-sensei." She looked so pathetically apologetic I could laugh.

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[Author's note: 

**Unagi = eel**

Mwahah~ I'm finishing the story in the next chapter (2 parts). Stay tuned!

Thank you for supporting this story!

[Sakuragi, Cindy, Ren and supporting characters bow.]

PS: Thanks lambie for reminding me that it's "Kwek" and not "Quek"…I got mixed up..^__^


	9. Chapt 7 Part one Quite Weird

Author: Silhouette

Websites: (homepage) http://www.eddiec.cjb.net

(Rukawa) http://www.silhouette.cjb.net

(SenRu) http://www.thunderstormsenru.cjb.net

Ratings: G (Do not fear! Kids! The Queen of Censor is here to save you from all hentai-ness…)

-_____-;;

Disclaimer: Oh god if you give me a million dollars I will use it to buy the copyright of Slam Dunk from Inoue-sensei.

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Chapter 7

Part One

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Sakuragi POV

It's been about 3 weeks since I discovered Haruko and Yasuda's relationship. 

Strange, I don't feel negative about it. They are happy, and I feel glad for them. Why? Ain't I supposed to fly into a rage or cry for my 51st rejection? But thing is, I did nothing of those. I didn't even get angry when the Gundan jeered about it.

My vision fell on the petite figure working silently in a corner of the class.

Cindy.

Her name's so sweet, like her. I must say my life changed drastically after she arrived. For one thing, I have stopped trying to yell at people, because she's very timid and she screams at /everything/. Mouse. Ha! Ha! For another thing, I have started to do my homework, because I could then discover that I don't know how to do all of the questions… and I could call Cindy. Hearing her charming voice over the phone is…

Wait a minute, Hanamichi, are you saying that you fell for Cindy? 

But what happened to the big 'Pang' of "She's my type!" when she appeared?

What happened to…

Oh to the heck with that. I know I like Cindy, and that is that.

Problem is: How do I carry the message across to her? She's so mousey, she'll probably scream and run away if I tell her, "Hey Cindy, I really like you, want to go out with me?"

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Cindy POV

I'm just doing my Geography work. 

Am I being watched?

I turned around and looked, there were only a few classmates around, and yes, Sakuragi was sitting at his seat, staring at me with… wait, is that…a dreamy look? It's the kind of dreamy, faraway… lovesick look. 

Cindy, you definitely read too many Romance novels. Sakuragi, staring at me with a lovesick look? Bah!

I turned back to my work, and shrugged off the strange fuzzy feeling at the bottom of my tummy.

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	10. Chapt 7 Part Two I know it's weird

Author: Silhouette

Websites: (homepage) http://www.eddiec.cjb.net

(Rukawa) http://www.silhouette.cjb.net

(SenRu) http://www.thunderstormsenru.cjb.net

Ratings: G (Do not fear! Kids! The Queen of Censor is here to save you from all hentai-ness…)

-_____-;;

Disclaimer: Oh god if you give me a million dollars I will use it to buy the copyright of Slam Dunk from Inoue-sensei.

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Chapter 7

Part Two

He braced himself and walked up to her, "Cindy…"

She jumped, as expected, "Sakuragi! You scared me!" 

Sakuragi scratched the back of his head apologetically, and beamed at her, "Want to go for lunch together?"

Cindy blinked, "Are you asking me out?"

"Eh, yes."

"Oh…okay," She packed her books into the bag and stood, "You made me feel inferior," She pouted.

"Huh?"

"You are so tall!!!" Cindy grinned, tipping her toes to pat his flaming red head.

Sakuragi blushed and turned away before she could notice his flushed face.

"Let's go, then."

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Cindy POV

Lunch is nice. Sakuragi's been staring at his food for sometime, wonder what he's thinking of.

"Oy…" I pushed his bento box towards him, "Aren't you going to eat yet?"

"Wh..huh?" He looked up at me with a strange expression, "Cindy… I need to tell you something,"

I took a bite off the apple, keeping eye contact with him, "What?"

"I eh… I eh…"

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Sakuragi POV

Damned that stutter. Why do guys always stutter when they are about to confess? Make it fast, Hanamichi. I lowered my head and examined the bento box, pretending that it's very pretty.

"IlikeyouverymuchCindywillyoubemygirlfriend?"

Ah, got it out. 

Wait, why isn't she screaming or gasping or…

I looked up. Cindy was talking over her mobile phone. She bid the other person a hurried goodbye and looked at me, "Sorry, sorry! What did you just say?"

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Cindy POV

Aiyoh, that Ren, call me at lunchtime… Sakuragi said something, but I didn't catch it. It's only a phone call, why is he staring at me with a piteous, distressed, teary expression like this? I don't get it.

"I'm so sorry…what did you just say?"

He took a deep breath, "Cindy, I like you very much. Will. You. Be. My. Girlfriend?"

Did he just say that? I must have been staring at him because he looked distraught again, "Never mind if you don't like me, you know… It's my 52nd rejection and well…"

Some people actually rejected him? Why? He's so nice… Sakuragi stood to go, "Thank you for having lunch with me anyway…"

"But Hanamichi, I…"

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Sakuragi POV

She called me 'Hanamichi'…not 'Sakuragi'…

I felt bubbles rising and bursting within myself, it might be a success after all…

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Sakuragi Gundan POV

So sad. He wasn't rejected.

"Okay guys, let's go to the Pachinko."

"Aren't you going to ask Hanamichi along?"

"He? He'll be out on his precious date with Cindy girl. Lucky fellow, he's finally gotten himself a girl."

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OWARI

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[Author's note: *Throws Confetti* I've finally finished this story!!!!!! Sorry Razz, if this is too short…*Looks sheepish* Anyway, I paired you up with Hana-kun right? Mwwhahahhahahah!!!

Oh, and this update is also one opportunity for me to inform readers that I'll be taking a long break from writing… for more details please check my bio. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cast of "You, Carrot Top" bows to faithful readers.

Cindy: *Dries tears* I never thought I'll see the end of this story…

Fen: Awww…don't worry, we'll make Eddie write another one for you, okay?

Hana [not Sakuragi]: Ah, you haven't finished my story yet! [Refer to 'Hi, Megane']

Intelligent Savage Cat: You haven't written anything for me yet. *Scowl*Scowl* 

Eddie: T____T You can see… [to other readers] I'm just one pathetic li'l friend-dominated writer…T___T]


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